USC Men's Basketball Closes Homestand With Utah Saturday

The USC Trojans (12-5, 4-2) will host the Utah Runnin' Utes (12-6, 5-2) at the Galen Center on Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. The game will air on the Pac-12 Network with Ted Robinson and Don MacLean calling the action. It is the Trojans' Zero Waste game as part of the Pac-12 initiative. Last season, USC won the contest among Pac-12 schools for its 91.8 waste diverted from landfills rate for the game vs. California on Jan. 29, 2022.

USC'S STELLAR STRETCH -- USC won a school-record 73 games over the last three seasons (22 in 2020, 25 in 2021 and 26 in 2022). The previous school record for wins in three consecutive seasons was 71 (2016-18). The three consecutive seasons of 20+ wins also equals the school record for most consecutive 20-win seasons set from 2016-18.

WINNING WAYS -- USC's 73 total wins the previous three seasons tied for the third most among all Power 6 basketball programs, trailing only the last two NCAA champions Kansas (83) and Baylor (81). Also, USC's 160 wins the previous seven seasons ranked 13th among all Power 6 conference teams.

ENFIELD LEADING THE WAY -- USC head coach Andy Enfield is in his 10th season at USC and has compiled an 195-123 record. His wins total ranks fourth on USC's all-time wins list, trailing only Sam Barry (260), Forrest Twogood (251) and Bob Boyd (216). Including his two seasons as the head coach at FGCU (2012-13), Enfield has compiled a 236-151 record.

FACING UTAH -- The Utah Runnin' Utes (12-6, 5-2) are coming off a 68-49 loss at UCLA on Jan. 12. Senior center Branden Carlson, who leads four Utes in double-figures with a 15.7 scoring average, did not play against UCLA due to a stomach illness. USC won both games against Utah last season and four of the last five games, but trails 24-26 in the all-time series.

No. 9 ARIZONA ON DECK -- USC's next game will be at No. 9 Arizona (15-2, 4-2) on Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. PT. Arizona has won 9 of its last 10 games and will play at Oregon on Jan. 14 before hosting USC. Arizona is 9-1 at home this season. Junior forward Azuolas Tubelis leads Arizona with a 20.8 scoring average and is tied for the team lead with a 9.2 rebounds per game average. USC lost both games to Arizona last season and has lost its last three games to the Wildcats. USC last win over Arizona was an 87-73 victory at the McKale Center on Jan. 7, 2021, which snapped USC's 10-game losing streak at Arizona. USC trails 45-71* in the all-time series (*1 USC win and 1 Arizona win later vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 46-72).

PRIME TIME TROJANS -- USC is 8-0 this season when the tip is set for 7 p.m. or later.

IT STARTS WITH DEFENSE -- USC held California to 27.7 shooting on Nov. 30, the lowest by an opponent since holding Stanford to a 25.4 shooting percentage on March 3, 2021. USC allowed Washington State to make a 2022-23 opponent high 49.1 percent of its shots on Jan. 1,
then followed that up by holding Pac-12 leader UCLA to 34.5 percent shooting on Jan. 5. USC has held 10 of its 17 opponents this season to under 40 percent shooting. USC is holding its opponents to a 38.2 shooting percentage this season, 15th in the country. Over the last four seasons, USC's defense has held the opposition to 38.7 FG percentage, 3rd in the country.

THE TOP STACK IN THE PAC -- USC is third in conference regular season wins among Pac-12 teams for the past six seasons (since the 2017-18 season). USC is 64-36, Arizona is 65-35, while UCLA is 66-33 in that stretch, through games of Jan. 12. Next up would be Oregon at 61-35 and Colorado at 57-41.

SATURDAY IS EVERYDAY -- USC's 17 games have been played on every day of the week except Saturday so far this season. However, 7 of USC's final 14 regular season games will be played on Saturdays.

ENJOYING THE HOME COOKING -- USC is 8-1 at the Galen Center this season, losing the opener to FGCU on Nov. 7, then winning the next. 8 games. The 8-game home winning streak is USC's longest single-season home winning streak since beginning the 2016-17 season 9-0 at the Galen Center.

USC'S ALL-YEAR BLOCK PARTY -- USC has 99 blocks this season, led by Joshua Morgan's 47 blocks. USC is averaging 5.8 blocks per game, 11th in the country. Morgan's 47 blocks this season rank tied for 7th in the country. Morgan had 7 blocks vs. FGCU on Nov. 7 which tied him for fifth on USC's all-time single game blocks list. He matched that total with 7 blocks at Cal on Nov. 30. USC as a team has registered 570 blocks over the last four seasons which ranks 6th nationally.

PETERSON PROVIDING THE ASSIST -- Guard Drew Peterson leads USC and is fourth among Pac-12 players with 85 assists. Peterson is one of two players nationally (Jalen Pickett of Penn State) averaging at least 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game this season. Peterson is averaging 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.

JEKYLL & HYDE FROM WAY OUTSIDE -- USC made 9 three-pointers vs. Colorado State on Dec. 21 and has had four games with at least 9 three-pointers made this season. In those four games, USC made 46.7 percent of its three-pointers (42-for-90), while making 24.6 percent of its three-pointers in the other 13 games (52-for-211).

THE MAGIC MARK -- USC defeated Colorado 68-61 on Jan. 12 to improve to 8-2 this season when holding the opposition under 70 points. USC finished 20-3 in the 2021-22 season and is 118-10 in its last 128 games when hold the opposition to under 70 points, dating back to Feb. 28, 2015. USC has held 57 of its last 80 opponents to under 70 points dating back to the 2019-20 season.

ELLIS STARTING TO COOK AGAIN - Senior guard Boogie Ellis has averaged 18.3 points the last six games, scoring a career-best 28 points vs. Auburn on Dec. 18, scoring 19 vs. Colorado State on Dec. 21, 27 at Washington on Dec. 30, 12 at WSU on Jan. 1, 10 at UCLA on Jan. 5 and 14 vs. Colorado on Jan. 12. He scored in double figures in USC's first 7 games, then totaled 29 points in the next four games, before his current onslaught. Ellis leads USC with a 15.6 scoring average and leads the team with 34 three-pointers made and 49 free throws made. He is also second among Trojans with 26 steals.

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Players Mentioned

Boogie Ellis

Joshua Morgan

Drew Peterson